Walks-the-Umbra
by Walks-the-Umbra
Summary: A young girl falls under a bizarre curse.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note - This doesn't seem like a Pokemon fic for a little bit, and then near the end, I'm afraid that the plot moved too quickly. Do they balance out, or am I just going crazy? (Feel free to answer both ways if you want. ^_^)

Disclaimer - I don't own any Pokemon mentioned in this story. Come to think of it, I don't own Pokemon at all! Pokemon belongs to Nintendo, Game Freak, and the wonder-man that is Satoshi Tajiri! ^_^ Anyone else in the story, however, I made myself. Any resemblance to others, living or dead, is purely coincidental, blah blah blah, yadda yadda. You know the drill. 

## Walks-the-Umbra

Chapter 1

"Hey! Hey there!"

Lilith stopped walking and turned around to see a girl with short dark hair running towards her, a huge grin on her face. Not an unfriendly grin, she noted. Not the "I know something about you don't know" grin that she was used to seeing on people as she passed. 

The girl soon caught up to her and stopped. "Hi there!" she said cheerfully. "You're Lilith, right?" Lilith nodded simply, and the girl continued. "I'm Edith. Edith Johansen. You're new here, aren't you?"

Again, Lilith nodded. Ah, here it starts, she thought. The tricks. The initiations. The "do what I say and I'll make sure you fit in" suggestions. Just play along for a while, and she'll go away when she sees her plan won't work.

Edith stuck out her hand. "Welcome to Ebony Falls, and welcome to Ebony Falls High School." Lilith took the hand cautiously and shook it politely. Edith continued. "I've seen you aren't in the halls lately, and I hadn't seen you before. I figured I might as well introduce myself. I know what it's like to move here in the middle of a term. Not knowing anyone. Everyone has their own little cliques, and they're too busy to invite you in. Not to mention the load of schoolwork you have to catch up on!" she added with an even larger grin. 

Despite the overly perky attitude, Lilith was starting to like this girl. She was friendly to her, actually speaking to her of her own free will, and didn't seem to have some sort of hidden agenda.

Yet.

Lilith nodded for the third time before speaking. "It's nice to meet you," she said, flipping a stray strand of her long black hair out of her eyes. "I think I've seen you in one of my classes. Literature, right? You sit three seats away?"

"Yeah, that's me!" Edith replied. "Glad you recognized me." She paused. "Anyone, class is going to begin any minute now, and I have to get my books from my locker." She turned around and started walking down the hall. "Bye, Lilith!" she called back over her shoulder.

Lilith watched her as she walked away. She certainly did seem nice enough, and if she was any judge of people, she didn't want anything in return for being so nice. The skirt of her navy blue uniform moved back and forth as she walked, and the school bag slung over her shoulder made her slump on one side just a little. Her short brown hair bobbed with each step she took. She really seemed like she belonged here at Ebony Falls High. Not at all like how Lilith felt.

Lilith sighed and stepped over to her locker, opening it and looking at the small mirror she'd put inside. She seemed almost the opposite of Edith. She had long, straight, very dark brown hair, almost black, and clear blue eyes to rival Edith's deep brown ones. Her skin was just a tad too pale, giving her a slightly ethereal appearance in the right lighting. She was tall, but not too tall, and the dark blue of the school uniform made her look almost as if she should be in an office building rather than being a student.

The bell began to chime softly in the background, and the sound of the students filing into classrooms reminded Lilith that she had no time to stand and contemplate her appearance. A quick glance at the schedule she'd pinned to the inside of her locker door told her she had Japanese as her next class (what a diverse school this was. For such a small town, the school system was terrific, and offered the widest variety of courses in the state.). She grabbed her text book, closed her locker, and ran off down the hallway to avoid being late.

The walk home at the end of the day was always enjoyable, even if it was a walk home to an empty house. Before she reached her destination, she could forget who she was, and just listen to the cries of the Spearow and Pidgey in the air, or watch a cat-fight between two Meowth over a pice of fish. Not that she lived in a bad area of town where strays were common. Far from it. Lilith's home was nothing short of a small mansion, located in the center of the town. Most of the rooms lay empty, of course. Only four were used: Lilith's bedroom, the living room, the kitchen, and the bathroom. All others were empty.

What a lot of wasted space.

She walked inside, slipping off her shoes as she did so, calling out "hello!" to the empty house more out of habit than to comfort herself. Her parents had died not a month before, and she'd had no living relatives to go to. As stated in the will her parents had conveniently made some time before the accident, she was to go and live in Ebony Falls, at the family summer home. 

"Summer home, my ass," Lilith had said. "This isn't a summer home, this is a mansion! It could be put to better use than housing one girl."

But the courts wouldn't hear of it. She packed up her things and moved into the house two weeks after the death. Funny, she'd thought when she'd seen the building from the inside. Funny how my life could fit into one room. True, it was a very large room. Large enough for a computer, entertainment systems galore, a four-poster bed, her clothes, whatever else she'd managed to bring. She still felt guilty every night before she slept. Living alone in such a large house, living off the substantial amount of money her parents had left for her in the bank. She could live off that in splendor for over a decade, she deduced one day. 

Her family had been painfully rich, but she had tried her whole life not to flaunt it. She knew that there were people starving on the streets every day. She knew that there were hundreds of people who would have killed for a chance to be in her place. There were times she would have gladly let them kill her to take her place. Not that she was bored of her life. It just seemed, at times, that living in luxury was so pointless. She'd had very few friends, even before moving to Ebony Falls, simply because she didn't want to upstage anybody. 

Dropping her books off on the kitchen table, she strode over to the phone and checked for messages on the answering machine. The light flashed, and "1" showed on the LCD screen. Lilith's eyebrows rose. Who had called? Rewinding the tape, she began to listen.

"Hi there!" came the fuzzy voice of none other than Edith. "Just thought I'd give you a call. You remember me, right? Edith? We met in the hall today? Anyway, I work on the student council, so I figured I'd look up your number, and give you a ca-- Wow, you live there?! In that huge house? Man, your parents must be loaded! Look, I have to go do some work now, but I just wanted to call and say that if you ever needed anything, like help with schoolwork, or just to talk or whatever, then give me a call. My number's 555-8259. Okay, gotta go now! Bye!" There was a click and a whir as the message ended and the tape automatically rewound.

Lilith sat back on the couch. Well, there goes my cover, she thought. So much for hiding the fact that I have some good money in my pocket. She sighed. She had hoped to make a clean break from her past, but there was no real chance of that happening now.

_Oh well_, she thought. _No getting past that now. What's done is done. Maybe I can just trust that Edith girl to keep her mouth shut for now._

Thinking perhaps a walk might clear her head, she got up and walked out, locking the door behind her. Though she didn't really care if anyone stole anything from her, it was more out of habit than anything else. Her parents had drilled a high sense of 'security-is-important' into her since she could remember. 

The neighborhood was pretty nice, she found as she walked through it. Decent houses, although few of them looked lived-in. She supposed that most of them were just there and taken care of simply for show, to make it look like the 'rich part of town'. She shook her head. So much emphasis on appearances that nobody should even care about. 

As she turned the corner, she caught a glimpse of red eyes in the shadows, and she froze. Unsure of what it was that was watching her, it was all she could think of to do. Within second, the eyes blinked, and a black paw came out of the shadows, a black paw with some sort of gold-ring pattern on the fur further up the leg. _Pokemon_, she thought. _Definitely a Pokemon._

She heard a footstep behind her, and the paw and eyes simply vanished back into the shadows as if they'd never been there. She spun around to see what had startled it away, and saw a simply dressed old man, a watering can in his hand, and a few grass stains on the knees of his overalls. "Damned things," he muttered as he cast a dirty look into the shadows. "Wish they'd stop coming 'round here."

"What was it?" Lilith asked him.

"Umbreon," he answered as if she should know, then squinted at her. He pulled away, laughing. "Ha! Ye're that new one here, aren't ye?" Lilith nodded. He grew serious. "Yeah, those things're Umbreon. Live in packs in the woods outside town. Don't see 'em much in the city, but when we do, we all drive 'em out. S'bad luck to have those damned things anywhere near ye."

"Why?" asked Lilith, now suddenly curious. 

The man narrowed his eyes. "Well, they're Dark Pokemon, ain't they? Dark bein' evil. Least, that's how folks 'round here see 'em. They bring bad luck to whoever sees 'em, so we try an' keep 'em away whenever we can. Best you throw rocks at the little buggers if they come near ye. Unless," he added with an odd look on his face, "Unless ye're a bit fond of them types."

Lilith shook her head. "I don't know much about them at all. But I think I'll stay away from them from now on."

The man laughed and clapped her on the back in a friendly manner. "That's the way! Ye'll fit in just fine 'round here! Now, ye go on home, will ye? It'll be getting dark soon, and no one likes to be out after dark. Too many shadows, if ye get my meaning."

Lilith nodded, and began to walk back the way she came, back towards her house. A quick glance at the sky told her the man was right; it was starting to get a bit dark. Well, not so dark as faintly pink and orange as the sun began to set. Either way, it wouldn't be long until dark. 

Despite what the man on the street had said, she didn't go straight home. Lilith had always been a night person by nature, and loved being outdoors on clear nights when the stars could be seen. She used to lie outside for hours and watch the starts overhead, sometimes falling asleep on her lawn and having to be carried back inside. Other times, she'd go for a midnight walk in the park by her old house. Her parents never really minded. They thought her to be a very responsible young girl who knew how to take care of herself. 

Her eyes turned to the trees at the top of the street, and the trail that was just barely visible. So, the Umbreon lived in the woods, did they? Lilith smiled. _Maybe I'll see if I can find them_. She'd never had any sort of huge attachment to Pokemon, but adventure and mystery has always managed to catch her interest. This was no exception. Making sure that no one had followed her, she started to run up the street towards the thick trees.

From the top of a building nearby, a pair of red eyes watched her run.

The woods were thicker than Lilith had thought from the outside, but that didn't stop her from pressing onward, even when the trail became almost indistinguishable from the plants and bushes on the ground. The sun had completely set, and she was relying only on her vision to get by. Fortunately for her, she'd always had decent night vision, or she'd have been in serious trouble. Still, she moved slowly and carefully, and kept her eyes and ears open for anything interesting.

It wasn't long before she came upon a clearing in the trees, wide enough for her to see the sky perfectly. It was a perfectly clear night, as it had been a perfectly clear day, and the full moon was shining brightly now that there were no treetops to hinder the light. In the center of the clearing stood a large rock with a flat top, making the area seem like some sort of ancient site of worship. _Maybe I've found something interesting_, she thought as she approached the rock.

Climbing on top of it, she stood tall and looked around. A few times she could have sworn she saw flashes of red from the shrubs surrounding the clearing, but they always disappeared faster than she could focus on them. It was a truly beautiful place. 

A beam of moonlight shone straight on her, and she was blinded by the sudden light. Her stomach began to cramp, and she dropped to her knees in pain, unable to see or move. _What's happening?_ she thought frantically, trying to cry out, but finding she was inable to. _What's going on?!_ Pains, like tiny needles were piercing her skin, began to course over her body, and opened her mouth in a silent scream.

Around her, pairs or red eyes opened and began to watch.

* * *

So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Want to find out what's happening to Lilith? The second part should be out soon. For once, I kno exactly where I'm going with a fic, and this is one I've been dying to write for a while. ^_^ 


	2. Chapter 2

In our last chapter, Lilith went a-wandering in the woods at night, and something odd began to happen to her. Now, we found out exactly what happened. Expect this part to be a bit longer than the first part.

## Walks-the-Umbra

Chapter 2

She slowly opened her eyes, and was pleasantly surprised to find that no pain accompanied the action. She lifted her head a bit to look around. No pain, but a lot more surprise at just what she saw. She still lay on top of the rock in the middle of the clearing, but she was not alone. Surrounding the base of the rock were Umbreon. Many many Umbreon. And they were all watching her, they're eyes glowing a faint red in the darkness.

"Why are you watching me?" she asked, then clapped her mouth shut. Her voice sounded different somehow. Not rough or dry, or just at a different pitch. It sounded as if she were speaking some sort of other language, yet it sounded perfectly normal to her ears.

One of the Umbreon stepped forward. "You. Why are you here?"

She gasped. _Did that Umbreon just talk to me? What's going on?_ She was so confused. The pain she'd experienced beforehand was starting to fade from her mind, but that didn't explain the presence of all these Pokemon, or why she could have sworn one just spoke to her. 

_Could it be . . ?_

Taking a deep breath, she reached up and looked at her hand, and was half horrified to realise that it wasn't a hand anymore. It was a paw, a black paw, to be exact. Slowly, she turned her head and looked the rest of herself over. A sleek black body met her eyes, golden rings on her legs, and another that ran around her thick tail. Her eyes widened. _What the hell had happened?_

"I asked you once. Why are you here?"

Finding her voice again, she answered. "I -- I don't know."

Murmurs ran through the crowd of Umbreon below her. Had she said something wrong? She really didn't know how she'd come to be this way, and the 'why' of the matter was even less clear to her. What was she supposed to say? 'Sorry for intruding, but I was once a human taking a walk and now I'm some sort of Pokemon'? Even though that was exactly what had happened, it still sounded crazy to her.

After the murmurs had died down, the first Umbreon spoke again. "You are one of us, but you smell strange. Are you a trained Umbreon?"

"Trained? Me? Not that I'm aware of."

They began to laugh, and it sounded like a strange sort of bark. If she were human, she was sure she'd be flushing a deep red of embarassment. Feeling a little bold despite the situation, she asked, "What's so funny?"

The first Umbreon supressed a chuckle. "Oh, nothing. It's just that one would know if they were trained or not. Obviously, you know little of these things. You are very naive." He took another step towards her. "Please, step down from the Stone. You have my word as pack leader that you will not be harmed."

Pack leader? None of the others moved to counter the claim, so she figured that his word was as good as any. Taking a deep breath, she jumped down from the top of the rock, landing on all fours and marveling at the odd feeling of it. She was sure it registered on her face. "There," said the leader. "Now, I am called Howls-at-Night. What are you called?"

She blinked. Called? She used to have a name that she knew, but what was it? She lowered her head, more in confusion than pain. She couldn't remember anything. "I -- I don't know. I am called nothing."

Howls-at-Night stepped backwards, as did the rest of the pack. "You have undergone the change, and yet you have nothing to show for it. By the Moon, you're nothing but an Eevee kit in Umbreon form!" He paused. "Were you outcast by another pack? Is that why you are here?"

"I'm not sure," she answered truthfully, her head still bowed, but now out of shame. "I don't remember anything before waking up and seeing you all here."

More murmurs ran through the pack, louder than before. Even Howls-at-Night seemed surprised. "So, you have no idea as to who you are, or how you got here, and even less about why you're here. A suspicious story, I think." He paused to breathe. "Still, my word is law, and I say you are to stay with us until you can remember."

One Umbreon stepped towards Howls-at-Night as he said that. "Are you sure that's wise? She's a wilder, she knows nothing of our ways, and she might be sent to --"

"You will hold your tongue, ShadowBranch!" snapped Howls-at-Night. "Unless you want it bitten off!" ShadowBranch slunk backwards towards the others, teeth bared in a snarl, but not at Howls-at-Night. Without warning, he jumped into the shadows of the night and vanished from view.

Howls-at-Night turned his attention back to the newcomer. "You must forgive ShadowBranch. He is young and impulsive, and acts before he thinks. Now come with us. I'm sure by now the kits are getting hungry," he said loudly, more to the rest of the pack than to her. 

At his word, the pack began to fall back into the shadows, vanishing as ShadowBranch had done. Howls-at-Night followed suit, leaving the nameless one to wonder where exactly they went. They all seemed to leave in different directions. Soon enough, Howls-at-Night's head appeared out of a shadow. "Well? Aren't you coming? It's much shorter through the ShadowLands than it is to walk."

"The ShadowLands?" she questioned. "Forgive me, but I've never heard of them."

Howls-at-Night bit back a laughing bark. "Yes, you wouldn't have, would you? Not in your state. Well then, I suppose we'll have to walk. I wouldn't trust a kit in the ShadowLands, and I wouldn't trust you there either. No offense," he added quickly. "It's for your benefit, not mine." He stepped out of the shadows and fully into view. "Well, come on then. It'll be a decent walk."

They walked in silence, and she could not tell how much time had passed before she heard the short excited barks of Eevee in the distance. Something clicked in her mind. "Are those the Eevee kits you mentioned?" she asked Howls-at-Night.

He nodded his head without looking back at her. "Yes," he replied. "Our pack is rather large for such a small area, and larger still when you consider how the humans in the Stone Forest fear us."

"Stone Forest?"

He stopped and turned his head to look at her. "You must have passed through the Stone Forest to get to us," he answered. "The tall blocks of stone, where humans live. Humans there fear us, though no one knows why. One elder thought it was because we knew things they did not, but they knew we knew. Many creatures fear those that know more than themselves. Humans cannot know how to enter the ShadowLands. Perhaps that is why we are so hated in their Stone Forest." He resumed walking.

Within minutes, she judged, about ten Eevee bounded out of the bushes towards them, snapping playfully at Howls-at-Night's heels. Howls-at-Night did an elaborate dancing step out of the way and laughed. "My children!" he exclaimed happily. "How do you fare?"

One of the smaller ones sat down at his feet and looked up at him through huge brown eyes. "Father returns!" it said happily. "Happy now! Father is well?"

Howls-at-Night bent his head and licked the Eevee's tiny head, at which the little Pokemon giggled and ran circles around its 'Father'. Soon, however, they all noticed that Howls-at-Night was not alone, and they began to circle the newcomer, some snapping playfully at her, some snapping in anger at the intrusion. The one who had spoken before looked at Howls-at-Night. "Wilder?"

The pack leader turned and growled softly at the Eevee kits, and they instantly turned and ran back into the bushes from whence they came. He looked up at her. "I apologize. They have yet to be taught respect for newcomers. They are but kits."

Shaking her head, she replied, "Don't apologize. Just tell me what's going on." She lay down on the ground, paws curled beneath her. "I'm so confused. I don't know where I am, and already the children of this pack won't accept me."

Howls-at-Night stepped over to her and rubbed his muzzle comfortingly behind her ear. "They will respect and accept you if I say you are to be respected and accepted. They do not question my rule. Now come," he said, straightening. "The sooner you become settled, the better. I have a feeling there is much that will need to be done." He stepped through the bushes in the direction the Eevee kits took, leaving her to follow him of her own will.

She rose quickly, seeing no reason to continue lying on the ground in the middle of the night, Umbreon or not. _This is all so confusing_, she thought. _Why can't I remember anything. Thoughts keep slipping away, and I know I should hold on to them. I can't. I want to go home. Where is home?_

With those thoughts, and many others, streaming through her head, she stepped through after Howls-at-Night.

Beyond the bushes, she found herself in a large clearing, surrounded by thick trees on all sides but the place she's entered from. She'd have never found this place had she not been led to it. Even now, she was unsure she could find it again if she left. Umbreon were everywhere, playing with Eevee kits that danced and jumped and ran around as if they hadn't a care in the world, or lying and sleeping, or just talking to others. None seemed to notice her entrance. 

It was amazing to see all this. For a split second, she felt as if she were seeing through two sets of eyes. One, her Umbreon eyes, seeing her own kind, and seeing those who may be able to help her. The other, a distant set, seeing rare and beautiful animals that most saw as evil, but she saw as fascinating. She shook her head to clear those thoughts, and her Umbreon eyes took over her vision, making it easier to concentrate. 

She saw Howls-at-Night step up onto a huge slab of rock that towered above everything else in the area. Everyone else saw this, and all eyes turned to him, silence falling over everything, making each breath she took seem far too loud and noticable. She crouched down, trying to make herself smaller.

Howls-at-Night opened his mouth and let loose a long and haunting cry, one that seemed to explain exactly where his name had come from. Those on the ground answered with howls of their own, and even the small Eevee began to join in with their high-pitched yips and barks. Deep in her mind, the newcomer got the urge to join in their howl, to make her presence known, and to proclaim that she was one of them, all through a simple howl. Her better judgement, however, told her to remain quiet. She was still a 'wilder' to them now, and she didn't want to overstep her bounds.

The howl ended, and silence spread over the night again, with the exception of very faint angry cries of humans in the distance. How far away from that Stone Forest were they? Howls-at-Night took a deep breath and let his tongeu hang out of his mouth in an animalistic grin. "Brothers, Sisters, we find among ourselves a newcomer this night!" he said, his Umbreon voice spreading throughout the clearing and drawing all attention. "She knows not her name, and has never stepped into the ShadowLands, and is no more than a kit for all she knows. Yet her form is that of an Umbreon, one of us. Newcomer, wilder, step forward and present yourself!"

Cautiously, as if terrified the others would turn on her and rip her to shreds, the newcomer stepped forward from her hiding place in the bushes, keeping low to the ground, her ears hanging down the sides of her head. They watched her as she stepped before the slab of rock that Howls-at-Night stood on, and she slunk lower to the ground when she did.

Howls-at-Night did not comment on her display of submission, but it was clear by the tone of his voice that he approved. "This wilder," he continued," does not know our ways, yet comes before us in search of answers. We shall teach her, and she, Shadows willing, become part of our pack. She must have come through the Stone Forest to get to us, and must have been in clear view of the humans because she cannot enter the ShadowLands as we can. It is my proposal that we put her through the Naming, make her one of us. The more we are, the stronger we are, and the better we hunt! Who is with me?"

Excitied howls and yips rose in reply, and she felt her spirits lifting. She had gained the trust of the pack leader, and the others around her seemed to have accepted her. As the calls died, they gathered around her and began to sniff, getting to know her scent. Even the Eevee kits that had snapped at her before seemed happy and welcoming, and she could resist the urge to lick one of them on the head when it curled up around her front paws. 

Howls-at-Night joined the group and they cleared a pather for him to reach her. "Wilder, soon you will have a name that all Umbreon recognize, and you will be a part of our pack. Is that what you would wish?"

She looked him in the eyes, and made her decision as her new senses were screaming at her. "Yes," she admitted. "I wish to join you." That brought a few more happy cries from the crowd.

Howls-at-Night nodded once. "Then follow me, and you shall be named."

He led her off away from the rest of the pack, and back in the direction she had come from. In fact, he led her right back to the rock they had all found her on. "This Stone," he said to her, "is where we found you. It is also where we take new Umbreon to be named and find a place amongst the pack. Step up onto the Stone." She did so. "I am going to push you into the ShadowLands. Your task will be to find your way back to our meeting grounds. I cannot guide you, and you will be on your own. I cannot tell you what you will find, nor can I give you advice on how to pass through the ShadowLands. You alone must figure that out. There is a chance you will be lost in there eternally. Are you willing to face that risk?"

Part of her wanted to scream, "No! Don't make me do this. Don't leave me where I couldn't find my way!" However, a much larger part of her demanded acceptance, and in the end, that larger part won out. "I understand. I am willing. I'm not afraid."

Howls-at-Night jumped up onto the Stone behind her, and shoved her off the edge before she could say anything else. Surprised, she still managed to twist in midair to put her feet down, but the ground never came. Instead, she found herself in a dark space, larger and more black than she'd ever thought possible. She could see herself clearly, but there was no light source. Strange, she thought. This must be the ShadowLands.

They felt empty, and devoid of any life as she knew it. At the same time, they also felt strangely comforting, as if she belonged in a place such as this. Howls-at-Night's words came back to her. _Your task will be to find your way back to our meeting grounds_. How was she supposed to do that when she was in a different land alltogether? Sighing, she began to walk in the direction she was facing, hoping to be able to retrace her steps mentally and find some sort of exit to this place that led right into the meeting grounds.

She walked, and she walked, and she walked. It felt like she'd been walking for hours, and still she'd found nothing but the same blackness that was everywhere. Surely the sun had risen by now, and the Umbreon back had assumed her missing in the ShadowLands, and forgotten about her. The thought came to her that she had to be somewhere at sunrise, but where? She couldn't remember. Did the ShadowLands steal memory, or was it just her usual confusion at finding herself here?

In the distance, or what she assumed to be a distance away, a pale and wispy shape began to move towards her. An exit, she thought hopefully. I'm almost out. The meeting grounds must hold a beacon in the ShadowLands. She kept walking towards the shape, afraid to make any sudden movements, not knowing what would happen if she did. 

Then the shape was right in front of her face, startling her to the point that she skidded back a few steps and had to fight back the urge to run away. It was shaped like her, but pale and transparent and white, like a spirit. "What--what are you?" she asked as politely as she could, hoping this thing wouldn't attack her.

It looked at her. "I am lost," it answered sadly. The voice, so airy and quiet, sent chills down her spine.

"So am I," she said to it. "Can you help me?"

It nodded. "I know these lands well, but I am still lost."

Howls-at-Night's words came back to her again, telling her that there was a chance she would get lost and never be able to come out of the ShadowLands. Was this an Umbreon who had become trapped here? She felt a great swell of pity for the poor thing, having to be trapped in a land of darkness, with no escape. 

"I need to find my way to the Umbreon meeting grounds," she said, feeling stupid as she thought that there could be many meeting grounds that this place was connected to. 

Still, the pale Umbreon nodded. "I know the place you are talking of. I can guide you, if you like."

Howls-at-Night couldn't guide her. Should she allow something she'd never met to guide her? She shook her head. "No, thank you. But please, tell me how much further I have to go."

The pale Umbreon looked so upset when she replied that she would not be led. Still, she answered the question. "It is everywhere. You know the place in your mind. Remember the feel of it, and open the ShadowLands and leave. You'll find yourself there." With those words, it became nothing more than the pale white shape in the distance that had been there earlier.

She sighed. Open the ShadowLands? Easier said than done. She started to walk back the way she'd came, pondering the words in her mind. Think if the feeling of the meeting grounds. She pictured them as she remembered, full of Umbreon, Howls-at-Night on the huge slab of rock, the Umbreon crowding around her, warm, making her feel welcome, the smell of the trees and the earth in her nose, and the faint sounds of humans in their Stone Forest . . . 

A strange feeling came over her then, a flash of understanding. Her body felt as if it were back in the meeting grounds with all the other Umbreon and kits, but her eyes told her she was still in the ShadowLands. An idea formed in her mind, and she stopped walking her slow and careful walk, and stuck out a paw in front of her. She felt something solid touch it, and drew it back on instinct.

Drawing courage from this discovery, she tried again, and saw what looked like a dent in the shadows where her paw was. She was pushing on the shadows themselves! This must be how to open the ShadowLands! Taking a deep breath and holding onto that feeling of the meeting grounds, she threw herself forwards at the shadows . . . 

. . . and found herself sprawling on the solid ground. Opening her eyes and shaking dust out of her fur, she stood up, and was overjoyed to find herself back the the clearing, and to see the pack of Umbreon looking at her expectantly. Howls-at-Night stood on the rock slab overlooking her, and she could have sworn she saw that animal grin on his face once more. "Did I -- did I do it?" she asked, too overcome with excitement to be out of those dark lands to think properly.

In answer, Howls-at-Night let out another long howl, which was followed by the harmony of the entire pack following suit. She joined them this time, hearing her own voice join theirs to make a sound so beautiful to her ears she felt she would burst with joy. 

"May I present to you," Howls-at-Night cried loudly to the pack, "our newest pack member! Welcome, sister! Welcome, Walks-the-Umbra!"


	3. Chapter 3

In our last chapter, Lilith became an Umbreon and went through the ShadowLands to be named. Her name is Walks-the-Umbra, and she is now recognised by the Umbreon pack.

Walks-the-Umbra

Chapter 3

Lilith opened her eyes slowly, and was surprised at how dull the world around her seemed. Her senses were not as sharp as she remembered them, and the world was now so very bright. She sat up slowly, vaguely surprised that her head did not spin. As her eyes focused, she discovered that she lay curled up on top of a rock in the woods, the last rock she remembered seeing. her body was stiff and cramped from the chill morning air and from sleeping in such a position. 

She uncurled herself and jumped down from the rock, surveying the area around her. Yes, it all seemed familiar. She remembered walking here. She remembered being hit by the bright beam of moonlight, then collapsing. The rest . . . the rest seemed like a fading dream. Bits of it kept coming forward, then slipping away again just as she tried to remember them in detail.

She sighed in frustration, and glanced down at her now-wrinkled school uniform. "Might as well go home and change," she muttered to no one in particular. "Can't go to school like this." Now that her vision was clear, she glanced at the position of the sun in the sky and estimated that it was early morning, though a little too early for school to have started. Just enough time to do what she needed to do.

With her time limit in mind, she began walking home.

"Hey! Hey, Lilith!"

Lilith groaned and turned around from her locker at the sound of Edith's chirpy voice, ready to put on her usual expression of non-caring. In truth, she had just barely made it through the day until school's end, and she was as tired as she'd ever been. If she could have, she'd have curled up in a corner of some classroom and slept the day away. Sadly, her classes had interfered with those plans.

Edith dashed up to her and smiled her trademark smile. "You didn't call back last night? Was something up? I stayed off the Internet just in case you felt like calling, and --" She paused and truly looked at Lilith for the first time, peering into the other girl's eyes. "My God, you look like a wreck! Bad night sleeping?"

"Something like that," Lilith admitted. What was she supposed to say? Sorry I look like hell, but I dreamed that I was an Umbreon in a pack, and then I woke up on a rock in the middle of the woods this morning. Yes, that would go over well. Second day of school and already she was having hallucinations. She chuckled inwardly.

Edith must have caught the tiny wry smile that appeared on Lilith's face, because her expression changed from concern to curiosity. "Oh, was it a guy?" she asked, keeping her voice low as teachers passed by. Apparently, this school had some strict rules about sexual relations being discussed in the hallways.

"No, nothing like that," answered Lilith, sounding amused. "Just . . . some animals kept me up all night." It wasn't entirely a lie. Her dream had been plaguing her all day, and she felt as if she didn't get any sleep the previous night.

Edith scowled. "Oh, I'll bet it was those stupid Umbreon again. I could hear them howling all the way across the city. They live in the woods close to your house, you know? You might see them a bit more than normal. Best to stay away from then. They don't do us any good, Dark Pokemon."

There was a flash of memory of the pack howling at her arrival at the meeting grounds, and when she had left the ShadowLands and received a name. The Eevee kits crowding around her. ShadowBranch snarling at her. Howls-at-Night pushing her into the Shadowlands . . . 

"You okay?" Edith's voice cut through her thoughts and brought her back to reality. "Maybe you should go home and take a nap or something. If the Umbreon keep you up with their howling, then get some sleep in the day while you can. Maybe we can get town council to try driving them out again --"

"NO!" exclaimed Lilith loudly. People who were still in the hallway turned to look at her, and she flushed a deep red. "No," she said more quietly. "I mean, there's no need to do that just because they kept me up for a night. Let them be. They've done nothing wrong besides act how wild Pokemon act."

Edith shrugged. "Suit yourself, I guess. Still, if they keep being this loud, more than one person's going to complain, and then town council will drive them out again."

"Again?"

Edith nodded. "Yeah, again. I don't know how many times they've been driven out of the woods here, but they always keep coming back. I guess we're stuck with them. Still," she said in a cheerier voice, "can't have everything. 

Lilith put on a smile for Edith's sake. "Guess not." She yawned. "Listen, I'm going to head home and get some much-needed sleep. If I'm not here tomorrow, you'll let the teachers know why, right?" 

Edith nodded again. "Sure. No problem." She paused, then hugged Lilith briefly. "Get some rest, okay? You really do look like hell." With that, she walked off down the hall and went out of sight.

Lilith sighed and shook her head, closing her locker door and walking down the opposite end of the hall. If only she knew, Lilith thought wryly. Dreams -(was it really a dream?)- didn't usually affect her like that. And if it had been a dream -(why couldn't it have been real?)- then why did she wake up on a rock in the woods, exactly where she'd stopped walking and her 'dream' began? 

Edith's words about the Umbreon worried her regardless. Drive them out again? What did the pack do that would drive people to try and push wild Pokemon out of their homes, the woods where no one lived anyway? A little noise at night was to be expected in any place where wild Pokemon live nearby anyway, anyone knew that by now. 

She thought back to the words that the man on the street had given her only the previous day. The fact that they were Dark Pokemon could make anyone cautious, she thought, given their mysterious nature and abilities. But to drive them out simply because of their presence . . . the idea made her stomach turn. Howls-at-Night had given no indication that they attack humansd or made trouble for them, but didn't seem to approve of them much. Given what she just heard, she couldn't blame him.

Pushing the door open to the outside world, she blinked as the light assaulted her eyes, and began the walk home.

The second she entered the house, she dropped her bookbag by the door and kicked off her shoes without untying them, the fatigue upon her at full-force. Seeking the nearest couch, she collapsed on it, closing her eyes and falling asleep instantly, ignoring a somewhat growling stomach on top of it all. She didn't even wake up to hear the phone ring as Edith called to see how Lilith was doing . . . 

The faint howl in the distance was what brought her out of her slumber. That faint familiar howl from the woods behind her, calling her, urging her to follow it to the source. She sat up, all traces of sleep gone from her eyes, and looked out the window. No light save for the streetlights came through the filmy curtains, meaning that the sun had set long ago, and it was time for the Umbreon to come out to play, she thought, a wry smile turning her lips upward slightly.

The howl sounded again, a long and resonant one, a howl of calling. An urge to follow that call arose within her, and rather than fight it, she gave into it. Time to see if her dream was really a dream. She threw on her jacket and left the house, not bothering to lock the door behind her. No point to it, as usual, and even less of a point when she was driven to an alternate life in the wild.

It didn't take her long to find the point where she had awoken that morning, even with no light to guide her. As it had the night before, moonlight shone down through the leaves in rays, lighting the top of the stone and making it seem like an impossible image that from a legend. Taking a deep breath, she climbed up on top of the rock, and stood there.

At first, nothing happened, and that split second of hope was replaced by a feeling of emptiness and disappointment. Then, a second later, the moonlight grew brighter, and she felt herself begin to change. It was an odd feeling, the pain-pleasure meld of her limbs shortening, her bones twisting and fur growing, and the knowledge that she was becoming something else, that she wasn't crazy for believing that what she remembered was actually real. 

It ended all too soon, and she jumped down to the ground, landing softly on all four paws, her senses adjusting as they became more acute, more attuned to the night. Soon she could see as well as if the sun was shining bright, and her hearing was sharp enough to hear noises from the city that she normally would have missed. There was something refreshing about being in this new form.

More refreshing when she could at least remember the experience, anyway.

What she certainly did notice was the feeling of almost having two minds. On one hand, there was Lilith, the human who was fascinated by her new ability, the mind that thought rationally. Then there was the Umbreon mind, the one that relied on smell and sound and instinct rather than coherent thought patterns. Bother were struggling for domination, and it was all that the girl - no, the Umbreon now - could do to keep a balance between them.

I have to start thinking of myself as Walks-the-Umbra now, she thought as she fully adjusted to the form. Now, to find out where the rest of the pack is. She lifted her nose to the air and sought out their scent, hoping she'd be able to find it and recognise it with all the other smells in the air.

No luck. A few minutes of sniffing around and her nose was cold and dry, and she couldn't make heads or tails of any of the strange new scents on the night air. She slumped to the ground and rested her head on her front paws. How was she going to find them?

Why did she have to find them?

Walks' head snapped up as that thought entered her mind. Why indeed? She struggled to find the reason, and it finally came to her. Humans . . . driving out the Umbreon . . . That's right; she had to warn them that it may happen again. But how to get to them . . .

Of course! She stood and walked to a place where the trees grew thickly and looked at the shadows, a remarkably human grin flashing across her Umbreon face. The ShadowLands. Concentrating on how she'd felt when she'd been pushed in by Howls-at-Night, she touched her paw to the darkness at the base of the trees and was pleasantly surprised when she felt the shadows grow solid and bend beneath the pressure. Taking a deep breath, she held that feeling and leapt forward into the shadow . . .

. . . and felt her feet hit solid ground, everything around her fading to black as she entered the ShadowLands. But things were different this time. Instead of the total darkness she remembered from last time, she could still see faint images of the world outside, the plane she had just come from. Pale and faded images of trees and plants and rocks met her eyes, so hard to see even with her sharper vision that if she looked at them too long, they'd vanish. So very different from the shadows and emptiness she remembered.

She began to walk, once again forming the image of the place where she had seen the Umbreon gather last night in her mind. The image came so clearly to her now, and she almost thought she could see it wavering weakly in the semi-darkness of the ShadowLands. No, wait, she could see it. There, just ahead, was the gathering, a pack of Umbreon and Eevee together, some playing, some resting. All there.

Maybe it gets easier the more I do it, she thought as she walked towards the image, once again tentatively touching the shadows with her front paw. Feeling it yeild beneath her, she walked confidently forward, feeling what felt remarkably akin to soft material pass over her body as she slipped out of the ShadowLands and back into mere shadows just a short distance away from the Umbreon gathering, the cool breeze rippling her fur softly.

Then that breeze was promptly replaced with a hard cuff to the head.

She sprawled facedown in the dirt, the back of her head aching from the blow. Before she could rise and face her attacker, another blow came, harder than the first, right in the same spot. Bright flashes danced in front of her eyes, but she blinked them back. Out of instinct rather than knowledge, she leapt into a shadow, crossing behind the attacker, then jumping out again, springing up and landing hard on its back. It fell to the ground with an angry growl.

Walks would recognize that growl after last night. ShadowBranch threw her off his back and stood before her, fur bristling on his back and fangs bared. Walks did the same, shaking her head to clear it fully after that blow. ShadowBranch's mouth moved it what would have been a feral smile on a human. On an Umbreon, it just looked unnatural, and both parts of Walks' mind recognized that. Unconsciously, she moved backwards a step, away from the unnatural thing.

ShadowBranch took his chance and pounced again, paw outstretched to deliver another blow. Walks ducked, but not enough to escape the sharp claws that raked down her left shoulder. She caught the scent of blood in the air and winced more at the smell than the pain. As ShadowBranch twisted to get another shot at the young Umbreon, Walks snapped at his side. Her jaws only caught air as the stronger one moved aside and delivered another blow to the head which sent Walks sprawling.

She sensed rather than saw the shadow of the bigger Umbreon loom over her, and she closed her eyes and tensed, ready for the fresh bout of pain that was sure to come. She was no match for this one, one who had such experience in fighting when she did not. As loudly as she dared, she asked, "Why?"

"Because you are an outsider!" came the angry reply. "You take the affections of the pack leader as easily as if you were a new kit, and you come among us as if you were one of us, and you're not!" He all but spat out those last words, and Walks again felt that curious double feeling of both belonging and not belonging to this place. It was hers and yet it wasn't.

She must have whimpered, because ShadowBranch's next words were, "A coward on top of it all! Stand up and fight me, coward, if you are an Umbreon!"

Walks raised her head slowly, cautiously, and instantly regretted it when she felt ShadowBranch's paw land solidly on the back of her neck, the sharp claws biting into her flesh. "Rise now, kit!"

She didn't move, and the paw pressed harder, the claws digging in deeper. "Rise!" 

Having no other choice but to try, Walks pushed herself upwards, trying her hardest to ignore the blood now running fron her neck and back as well as from her shoulder. Her left leg buckled and gave, and she fell back to the ground with a soft thud. ShadowBranch gave a barking laugh. The paw lifted from her back, and Walks felt momentary relief until she felt his hot breath replace it, teeth above her flesh.

"Enough!"

Now relief flooded through Walks at the sound of that cry. ShadowBranch backed away, and Walks dared to look up to see Howls-at-Night standing a short distance away, eyes narrowed and teeth bared at ShadowBranch. ShadowBranch still looked defiant, his own teeth glinting in the dim light of the night, but Walks could see that he was slinking lower and lower to the ground with each passing second. Before long, he had given up. He turned and dashed into the nearest shadow, slipping into the ShadowLands and away from Howls-at-Night and Walks. 

Walks let out a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Howls-at-Night approached her and looked her over, taking note of the damage done. He bent down and started licking carefully at the wound on her shoulder, cleaning and soothing the deep gashes until Walks could tolerate the pain that had been shooting out from them only moments ago. 

"Are you well enough to walk?" Howls-at-Night asked. "That scratch went deep."

Walks stood and gingerly put her weight on her left leg. The pain was still there, but it was tolerable now, and her leg wasn't about to fail her if she walked carefully enough. "I'm fine," she replied as they began to walk towards the meeting grounds, hoping that Howls-at-Night would not notice the other wound by her neck. The smell of blood was still in the air, but perhaps it wasn't enough to warrant paying much attention to.

They were silent for a while as they walked, taking their time so as not to hurt Walks-the-Umbra's shoulder more. After a while, Howls-at-Night spoke again. "What did you do to cause that trouble?"

Something clicked in Walks' mind, and she stopped suddenly. "Trouble! That's right, I have to tell you something!"

Howls-at-Night stopped walking and looked over his shoulder at her. "About ShadowBranch," he said patiently.

"No, about the humans," she replied, and Howls-at-Night's eyes narrowed again. Knowing she had his attention now, she continued. "They're coming again. Coming and they'll drive you -- us -- away again, or kill everyone!"

A silence, and then . . . barking laughs from Howls-at-Night. Walks stepped back for a moment, half afraid of the strange noise, and half because she thought he was laughing at her. Once the leader had calmed down, he looked at her, kindness and patience in his eyes. "Young one, they will not come. They are afraid of us, yes, and they did try to dispose of us more than once, but we are still here, are we not?" He took a few steps towards her. "Do not fear, young one," he said as he rubbed his muzzle behind her ear. "If they come, we will fight them off as we always do, and we will still be here when night falls."

He continued walking, and Walks followed, lost in her thoughts. Had she overreacted to the threat she'd learned of? Maybe so, but wasn't every threat something to take even a little bit seriously, not to laugh at? Humans certainly had the power and the means with which to drive the Umbreon away, and even Howls-at-Night was aware of that fact even if he was trying to hide it. 

The gathering was lively, as it seemed it often was. Eevee kits jumped and played, Umbreon talked or played more agressively than the younger ones. Nothing was out of the ordinary here, and yet, Walks noted as she stepped through the thick bushes to enter the grounds, the fact that it all seemed right seemed suddenly so wrong. 

* * *

There. Part 3 is done. Not very much happened, but amazingly, it's as long as the second part. :D A weakish ending, I'll admit, but there was nothing else of note that needed to happen, and I figured I might as well end it with a corny phrase. :p


End file.
